Health care utilization up with childhood stressful life events

Stressful life events (SLEs) in childhood, including emotional abuse, unmet basic needs, experiences of racism, household mental illness, household substance abuse, parental incarceration, and exposure to neighborhood violence, are associated with increased health care utilization and unmet medical care needs, according to a study published online Aug. 8 in the National Health Statistics Reports, a publication from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.